New Ulm weekly review., 1887-04-13
BESET BY CROCODILEs.

Terrible Encounter with the Reptiles In the Gam
ges.
In making our surveys we were often
greatly annoyed and impeded by the
alligators, with which the rivers
named are alive from source to mouth.
In what are known on the survey
maps as the third and fourth mouths
OF the Ganges, these reptiles several
times attacked our boats in broad
daylight, and we lived in constant
dread Of them. These mouths, being
to the east of Calcutta, descend to
the sea through hundreds Of miles sof
fat land, which is mostly swamp, and
the situation is a. favorable one for
reptile life.
One rainy afternoon, while the sur
vey party were kept aboard the steam
er, one OF our natives put off in his
canoe to fish. He cast anchor not
three hundred yards from u.s. and had
been fishing only about ten minutes
when we noticed an alligator rise to
the surface behind him. Two Or three
natives called out to him, but he eli
ther did not hear or did not care. The
reptile sank out Of sight, was gone
about fifteen seconds, and then rose
up, reared out ofwater with head and
fore feet in the canoe, and the next in
stant it was upset. The native utter
ed a direful wall as he realized his
fate, and there was such rush Of al
llgators to thespot that he could hard
~ have made a mouthful apiece for
them. s4
On another occasion, not more than
two weeks later we were using anative
IN the same canoe to mark the cham
mel. There was six of us in one of the
large boats, while he was alone in the
canoe. He had run off with 1SO feet
OF line, and was holding the canoe to
the swampy bank with one hand, and
the line with the other, when asaurian,
whose presence was not in the least
suspected, rose under the canoe, upset
it In a wink, and the man was seized
before he had uttered asingle cry. He
must have had the survey line wound
around his hand, for it at once began
to run off the reel, and in this wav we
followed the crocodile into a. lagoon,
but could not get at him to secure
revenge. [ have spoken of these rep
tiles as crocodiles and alligators. 1t
is distinction without a. difference.
There may be crocodiles. that differ
from alligators, but the erocodiles of.
India and the aliigators of America
are as much alike as two peas.
fires had been drawn to, overhaul her
boiler. We left the steamer shortly
after noon, and it was almost sun
down when we came back down the
lagoon to a small island tits mouth.
AS we were approaching this island
my comrade caught sight OF a very
large bird in the reeds and grass, and
knocked it over with charge from
his shotgun. We should not have
stopped but to get the bird. It was
a prize indeed, being a speci-
men entirely new to all of
1t was six or seven weeks after the
last seizure that O. party of six of us
two whites and four blacks-started
off in one of the boats to investieate
or explore q lagoon. This lagoon
seemed to be the mouth Of a river
or another branch of the Ganges, but
after following it about nine miles
through a fiat, marshy country we
discovered it's truenatnre. Our steam
er lay about a mile below this lagoon.
and on the same side OF
the river, and at that time her
US, although one of thenatives said he
had heard Of such a species Of birds
living far up the river. It was as
large as turkey, and presume it
bled a great deal. We had scarcely
showed away from the Island before
alllgators began to rise to the
surface around us, and they were so
bold that my comrade became alarm
ed, and did the worst thing possible
under the circumstances. He threw
the bird overheard, and it wasn't
sixty seconds afterward before we had
to pull ashore on the island to save
ourselves. I donot believe exaggerate
in the least when / say that there
were 25O OF the saurians splashing
about us when we landed. Indeed,
| the two Of us were using our firearms
to keep 'em off while the natives
pulled for the shore.
We had two double barreled shot
guns, but not over a dozen charges of
ammunition, and we used half ofthose
before the boat landed. The island
was a spongy bit of land not over so
feet across, with three or four small
| trees growingin the center. had new
sr seen the natives so badly ratified.
The moment the boat touched the
ground they sprang ashore and ran to
to the center of the island, and, in
their haste to abandon the craft, two
Of the oars were allowed to go over
board and float away. It seemed for
moment as if the reptiles meant to
crawl right over us, but the flash Of
the guns and the death of three or
Jour OF them produced something Of
scare, and after a bit they drew away
from the boat. I stood up on a
thWart and looked around in the twi-
light, and it seemed to me that the
water all around the little island was
alive with our enemies. They SWAN
here and there thew Turned and twict